A/N: don't own don't sue
Lyrics at the beginning are from 'The World We Knew' by Daughtry
Set around Season One, before Abel is kidnapped and Gemma is raped and Jax turns into a jerk and the whole club hates each other. Generally back when the show had fun and all the coolest characters were still alive. Because I can, it's called artistic license.
Learn My Lesson
Chapter Twenty
Another year goes by
Speeding as I drive
Felt like I would live this life I knew forever
I didn't see it change but I know it's not the same
I'd bring it back, if I could
But I know, I'm not that clever
Life's so short and it goes by fast
We can't get it back
The world we knew
It was so simple then
Me and you
Thought it would never end
Oh, what I wouldn't do
To get back to
The world we knew
Songs can bring you back
Yeah, I remember that
Nothing wrong the days were long and the sun was warmer
Life's so short and it goes by fast
We'll never get it back
The world we knew
Chibs was waiting outside, his face inscrutable behind his shades. He was sitting on the stairs glaring at the passing pedestrians shooting him and his bike looks and puffing steadily on a cigarette, watching deputies come and go. He was worried. Worried what that bitch Stahl would do to Naomi, whether she had the power to take her away. He was worried what Clay would do if he found out she'd been pulled in. She didn't know anything, not even about the Irish they'd spent the week with. Maybe he should have told her more, enough to know what not to say. In this life it was hard to know what would keep somebody safe.
"Hey."
She stepped down and took a seat beside him. He handed her the smoke. He pushed his shades up onto his forehead and studied her carefully. Her face was red and her eyes were blazing.
"What a fucking bitch." She announced without preamble, leaning towards him as someone jogged up the stairs past them.
"You good?"
She stayed leaning against him, dragging on the cigarette angrily.
"She can't touch me and I don't know anything. I'm fine." She sighed, flicked the butt into the street and climbed to her feet. "I'm guessing you're my ride."
She grinned, tugging on the collar of his shirt until he stood up. She eyed him contemplatively for a minute, then leaned up and pressed her lips against his. He lifted his eyebrows when she drew away.
"What? You looked hot." She smirked, her fingers stroking the circle of exposed chest under his collar.
He shook his head. What the hell was he going to do with her.
The clubhouse was full when they got back. Everybody was on break from the garage, milling around the clubhouse to kill some time in the punishing glare of the afternoon sun. Jax walked away from Gemma and hurried over to the yard towards them.
"I guess you want the lowdown, VP?" Naomi sighed as she climbed off the back of Chibs's bike.
He laughed, scrubbing his hands back through his blond hair. He hadn't talked to her much but she seemed straight up. She could have talked any number of times since she'd been with them but she hadn't. She unclipped her helmet as they waited for Chibs to back his bike up into his spot. Jax watched her silently, studied the way she watched Chibs handling his bike with hot eyes and her lower lip caught between her teeth. That probably explained it. Chibs hooked both their helmets onto his bike and sauntered over to her and Jax, pulling off his gloves and shoving his glasses up onto his forehead.
"Let's go then." She gave a heavy sigh, linking her fingers with Chibs's.
He stared at her warningly and Jax focused in on their interlocked fingers with a bemused look on his face. Naomi laughed, dragging Chibs into the clubhouse with Jax trailing behind them. Half-Sack fetched Clay from the office and he joined them in church. Naomi slid into a seat at the table eyed the carved reaper queasily, touching her scar absentmindedly. She really did hate this room. She had wisely let go of Chibs when they'd entered the clubhouse but he was sitting beside her, a solid comforting presence. Clay looked at him interrogatively for a long moment but didn't dismiss him. He settled into his chair at the head of the table, leaning back with his fingers laced together patiently. Word had obviously gotten to him that she had been taken in as he gestured for her to begin. She told them about her encounter with Stahl on the street earlier and everything she was asked in the station.
"So… to put it simply-" Clay started, glancing across at Chibs.
"They know I'm a witness for a federal case however they think I'm here because I'm banging him." She jerked her thumb at Chibs, a sly smile tweaking her mouth. "That bitch can't touch me, I'm too important." She laughed mirthlessly, her hands gripping her own fingers tightly in her lap. "I don't know anything. I'm just some dumb bimbo who happens to be banging a biker." She shrugged, opening her eyes innocently wide and batting her eyelashes helplessly. "What can I say, I'm a sucker for a bad boy with an accent."
Clay was frowning at her, Chibs was goggling at her and Jax looked ready to burst out laughing, stroking his chin to hide his amused grin. Clay was silent for several long agonising minutes, Chibs and Jax exchanging looks across the table. Naomi was tapping her foot and bouncing her knee nervously, waiting for the verdict. It had suddenly occurred to her that Clay could want rid of her and here was a perfect excuse.
"Okay. Fine. As long as it keeps that gash off my back I don't give a fuck. I'm too busy for this shit."
He waved for them to leave. Tig was hovering in the doorway when Chibs pushed open the door and the three of them filed out. Jax finally let out the guffaw he'd been holding in, clapping Chibs on the back.
"Not bad, brother." He chuckled, winking at Naomi when she rolled her eyes. "Be good, sweetheart." He gave her that killer smile and touched her arm lightly, swaggering over to Tara as she pulled up into the lot.
"Well Scottish." Naomi wrapped her arms around his waist, her smile only getting wider at the embarrassed shifty look on his face. "We're gonna have to do a good job of making everybody believe we're getting all down and dirty." She said softly, pressing flush against him.
Chibs was scowling over her head, trying to ignore how tightly she was pressed against him in front of everybody, distinctly aware of Half-Sack and Juice staring at them with their mouths dangling open from the pool table and Opie, Bobby and Piney whispering like a bunch of old women at the bar.
"You just linked yourself to us, you could get yourself killed." He grumbled, watching as Happy and Gemma wandered into the clubhouse.
"Oh no! You mean my life could be at risk?" She asked in mock horror.
He finally looked at her, practically growling with irritation and she smirked at him. He was so hot when he got all het up. Her hands had somehow slid under his cut, were warm through his thin shirt on the small of his back. He could see Happy leaning against the bar, his face a black angry mask. That could just be Happy's normal face, you never knew with him.
"We're going to have to keep up appearances." She was murmuring, her jeaned thigh shifting ever so slightly against him creating a delicious friction.
"We just have to look like we're screwing." Chibs pointed out in an undertone.
"Baby, I'm not that good an actress."
Her mouth was inches from his, his goatee tickling her chin, every freckle vivid in the dim light of the clubhouse, her brilliant eyes smouldering. He was wavering, she could see it. His hands had gone to her waist, squeezing gently, her thigh was still massaging him through his jeans.
"Or maybe…" She put her hands on his chest and pushed away from him, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Stahl got it wrong and you're not my hot mechanic with a big dick. There are a lot of you."
His face clouded over, his eyes flashing angrily and he yanked her against him before she could step away.
"Don't even think about it, lass." He grumbled, his accent pronounced and thick with jealousy.
"You said yourself I have plenty of offers-"
His mouth crashed down on hers, his broad hands tight on her waist, fingers digging into the tops of her buttocks. Wolf whistles, cat calls and vulgar comments were being hollered, bottle tops and litter were being tossed at them and fists were banging on the bar top. He flipped the bird around the clubhouse, his mouth still working against hers. He pulled away and stared down at her with a smirk. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were sparkling.
"What are you smirking about, jackass?" She demanded almost shyly, frowning at the smug look on his face and trying to block out the disgusting comment Tig was making behind her.
"Hot mechanic with a big dick, huh?"
"Fuck off." She snapped, her cheeks flaming a brilliant fiery red.
Chibs winked at her, relinquishing his grip as she squirmed embarrassedly away from him.
"All right, shut the fuck up you cunts." He ordered as the hooting started up again, shoving Tig towards the garage and grabbing Juice in a headlock on their way out.
She turned on the spot, still feeling the heat emanating from her cheeks. She frowned when she realised Happy was still standing there, his arms folded across his chest and his face all kinds of stony. She cocked her head.
"You alright there, Happy?"
He grunted. She crossed the clubhouse towards him, hauling herself up into a stool opposite him.
"Wanna talk about it?" She wheedled, squinting up at him. He still hadn't moved apart from his head, swivelling to face her. "Or not."
"Chibs is my brother." Happy said in a deep gravelly voice, his face beyond serious. "But he better not hurt you."
Naomi felt her face split into a smile.
"Happy that is so sweet."
He gave her a baffled look, as if he didn't understand the meaning of the word. She was grinning at him like a little kid at Christmas.
"I like you." He growled, his stern face and forbidding posture a complete contrast to his words. "You're strong."
Naomi was blushing again, she could feel it. Half-Sack and Juice told her nice things all the time but it seemed different coming from Happy. He grunted a last time and walked out of the clubhouse without another word. She swivelled around on the stool, turning to see Half-Sack wiping down the bar ferociously. He was grinning.
"What's your problem?" She teased, tossing a bottle-top at him.
His grin only got wider and she poked her tongue out at him.
"He's a good guy." Half-Sack said, nodding as he moved the cloth around the bar top. "He's a good brother."
"He is." Naomi agreed shyly, tapping her fingernails on the shiny surface of the bar. "I'm sure he's a good brother, I have Dex and he's an idiot with gangsters after him-" Naomi broke off abruptly.
Something had just occurred to her. When she'd been snatched from that motel, they'd done it to get Dexter's location out of her. The guys she was testifying against didn't know about Dexter, didn't care about him. He was nothing to them. So who the hell would follow her to Charming and grab her from a motel with CCTV footage, under the noses of a biker gang and the goddamn IRA? Who would want Dex that badly?
"Are you alright?" Half-Sack asked her, scurrying the length of the bar to take her hand.
"Yeah, fine. I just-" She pushed herself away from the bar. "I need Chibs."
She bolted into the garage without waiting for a reply, dodging around two mechanics carrying a big silver bumper between them and racing over to where Chibs and Juice were working on a big truck. She grabbed Chibs's arm. He looked at her irritably for a split second before he took in the look on her face and his features creased up into a mask of concern.
"What's wrong?" He demanded, ignoring how painfully tight she was clinging onto his arm.
"Dex." She gasped, suddenly out of breath. "My brother."
People were glancing at them, making dirty jokes and insinuating comments. Chibs tossed the oily rag in his hand at Juice who fumbled to catch it, his eyes wide as he stared at a trembling white-faced Naomi. Chibs hurried her through the garage and into a small room they used for storage.
"What's going on, lass?"
Her eyes were darting wildly and she was shaking.
"Why did they need to know?" She mumbled. "Why did they take me, to get me to talk about Dex?"
"Naomi-"
"He's nothing to do with this case, his name was never mentioned in any of the court reports. Why would anybody want him that badly?"
"Naomi… slow down, love." Chibs took her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Talk to me, what's going on."
Panic was rising in her throat, it was choking her, she couldn't breathe. Chibs could see her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. He rubbed her upper arms, murmuring soothing words in his husky accented voice until she regained control of her breathing. She gulped down big lungfuls of air as he stroked her cheek, her hair, her ears. Eventually she'd calmed down enough to explain herself and he frowned.
"Your brother has nothing to do with your case?" He asked her. "You're sure?"
"Positive." She nodded jerkily. "The only people who know about the deal are my family, our lawyer, the agent on my case and the prosecutor. Even the cops don't know, the lawyers did it all between themselves. All we did was sign. I mean-" She pushed away from him and paced the small room for a moment, her brain racing. "They could have been using me to find him to use him against me to stop me from testifying but what's the point? They would have just killed me when they had me, right? It doesn't make sense."
"Alright." Chibs grabbed her as she passed him by in her pacing, forcing her to stand still and look at him. "Alright, lass. We'll figure this out."
She stared down at him plaintively, her eyes big and earnest.
"How?"
Chibs opened his mouth but there was nothing to say. She was right. How could they figure out what was going on with her, with everything going down with the club? A tear slipped down her white cheek. He brushed it away with a knuckle, the metal of his ring refreshingly cool against her heated skin.
"How?" She murmured again, staring down at the ground between their booted feet.
